An Open Letter To Jeff Gordon Fans
USA Today Sports
Dear Jeff Gordon Fans:
We are 14 races into the last season that Jeff Gordon is going to run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. We are approaching the halfway point of what will be the final push for a fifth championship. A fifth championship that under different circumstances Gordon might have won awhile ago. The first 14 races of the season have not been what everyone though they might be and the result has been some unrest amongst those in Gordon Nation. That unrest needs to be put into perspective along with a couple of other things.
Gordon is done racing after 2015
First and foremost fans of Jeff Gordon have to let the idea of him racing in 2016 go. When Gordon first made the announcement he refused to use the word retire, for the most part he has stuck to that stance. However, he has also made it clear that he has no intentions to race again.
In interviews over the past few weeks Gordon has acknowledged that he would only race for Team Hendrick in the future. That being said, he also acknowledged what would go into even getting a car ready for him in 2016 and beyond and how he felt there wasn’t a need for that. Is it a 100 percent certainty that Gordon will never race again?
No, not at this point.
However, it seems pretty clear that Gordon has plenty of other things on his plate in 2016 and beyond and getting behind the wheel isn’t at the forefront of those plans. One should never stop hoping that Gordon will run again after 2015 but one should stop thinking that it’s a sure thing to happen.
Gordon hasn’t given up on 2015
I think it’s fair to say that Gordon and the No. 24 team have not run the way that some have expected thus far in 2015. That being said, Gordon is a couple of speeding penalties away from possibly having two wins at this point.
Although Gordon has not won, he has been fairly consistent since the fourth race of the season when he scored his first top-10 of 2015. In the last 12 races Gordon has nine top-10 finishes with his only other finishes being 31st and 15th and 14th.
While it’s understandable that fans want him to have wins and contend for wins more than he is now, saying that he has given up or thrown in the towel is ridiculous. After the race at Pocono on Sunday I will be the first to say that a 14th-place finish is disappointing. Gordon had a top-10 car at least this past weekend.
Following the race though some of his fans were talking like he was having the kind of season that Tony Stewart is having. Deep breaths everyone because it’s not that bad.
Enjoy the time that is left
Every Gordon fan wants to see wins and a championship when the season comes to an end and that could still happen.
While wins and championships are great, Gordon not winning a title or a bunch of races this season does not make his career or his final season any less special. Gordon is a four-time NASCAR champion that revolutionized the sport. Gordon brought NASCAR to heights that some may have never though possible in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
There is nothing wrong with want success for your favorite driver but there is also nothing wrong with stopping to smell the roses. Don’t become so consumed with finishes that you forget to enjoy Gordon’s final season. For many Gordon fans they had the honor of seeing him start his career in NASCAR and they will now get to see him finish it.
It’s not everyday that fans get to see their favorite driver leave the sport under his own terms when he still has more in the tank.